Open Enrollment and Student Diversity in Ohio’s Schools
Approximately 85,000 Ohio students use interdistrict open enrollment to attend a neighboring school district.
Approximately 85,000 Ohio students use interdistrict open enrollment to attend a neighboring school district.
The 2019–20 Fordham Sponsorship Annual Report provides insight into our sponsorship work during the year and the performance of our sponsored schools.
Since the first Ohio charter schools opened in 1998, they’ve regularly been subject to intense scrutiny
After a one-year pause in Ohio's school accountability system, the road back to normalcy is uncertain. Fordham's new policy brief titled Resetting school accountability, from the bottom up offers a clear and concise plan to restart state assessments and school report cards.
With little fanfare, Columbus Preparatory Academy regularly appears near the top of the charts when it comes to state test scores. In 2018-19, for example, its performance index score ranked twelfth out of 3,225 Ohio public schools.
In our 2019 annual report, we provide insight into our sponsorship work during the year and the performance of our sponsored schools. We are also pleased to highlight the good work of our colleagues on Fordham’s policy and research teams.
Parents, when surveyed, routinely tell us that safety is one of their top priorities when choosing a school. Although what exactly constitutes a “safe” school likely varies, for many it means a place where children feel welcomed and accepted.
According to a recent What Works Clearinghouse review, the most effective dropout-prevention strategy is to directly connect schoolwork to students’ career aspirations.
Today, approximately 340 public charter schools educate 105,000 Ohio students. Authored by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University, this report contains a rigorous analysis of the state’s charter schools using data from 2013-14 through 2016-17.
All students deserve equal access to an excellent K–12 education. The quality of their educational opportunities shouldn’t hinge on zip codes, family backgrounds, or the type of school they attend.
Automatic charter closure questioned
One of Ohio’s oldest public charter schools, Toledo School for the Arts (TSA) was forged from concerns about the state of arts education, especially performing arts and dance.
Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal published an opinion piece that charged school district officials in various cities with attempting to stall the growth of school choice b
The 2017-18 school year saw our sponsorship portfolio grow from 4,100 students in 2016-17 to 4,800 students across five Ohio cities: Dayton, Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Portsmouth. We're also honored to have been recognized by the National Association for Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) as part of NACSA's Quality Practice Project.
In Ohio today, approximately 250,000 students—rich and poor alike—are formally identified as gifted. These “high flyers” have tremendous potential to become the entrepreneurs, scientists, and engineers, as well as the civic and cultural leaders of the future.
2018 EdNext Poll shows increased support for charter schools
Governor Kasich signs HB 87 and SB 216 into law
You’ve probably heard by now that basketball superstar LeBron James opened a school for at-risk kids in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. Called I Promise School (IPS), it’s a joint effort between the I Promise Network, the LeBron James Family Foundation, and Akron Public Schools.
No two charter public schools are alike and the guiding purpose of the Pathway to Success series is to highlight the breadth of quality options available to parents and students across Ohio.
With college tuition at an all-time high, Ohio families are increasingly interested in finding ways to save on costs. Dual credit is a promising solution because if offers students the chance to earn high school and college credits simultaneously. Ohio has a plethora of dual-credit options, but some are better known to families than others. Here is a quick overview of the offerings.
Over the past month, local newspapers across Ohio have blasted headlines such as “Local schools lost millions to ECOT” and “Study: Now-defunct ECOT siphoned $2.6 million from
State report cards are a hot topic in Ohio, but most of the attention has been focused on the system used for traditional district and charter schools. Many Ohioans are unaware that state law requires the State Board of Education to have a separate report card system for dropout prevention and recovery charter schools (DPRS).
As people in Sciotoville tell it, their children historically have gotten Portsmouth’s leftovers—from textbooks to sports uniforms and more. That belief, they say, was the impetus for creating Sciotoville’s two start-up charter public schools.
The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation’s sponsorship annual report highlights our work with eleven schools that served 4,150 students in five Ohio cities during the 2016-17 school year.
Last week, the Ohio Department of Education released school grades for the 2016-17 school year. These report cards offer Buckeye families, community members, and taxpayers an important annual review of the performance of the state’s 3,000 plus schools and 600 districts.
Not much to report on today, but let’s not let that get us down. First up, we’ve got a bit more insight into that “final offer” from the Columbus City Schools board to the teacher’s union.
Despite their pronouncements to the contrary, many of Ohio’s affluent suburban school districts are about as “public” as a gated community. That’s the right conclusion to draw from a series of recent events.
NOTE: The Thomas B. Fordham Institute occasionally publishes guest commentaries on its blogs. The views expressed by guest authors do not necessarily reflect those of Fordham.
A college degree is becoming increasingly necessary in order for young people to attain the jobs they want, and yet getting to and through college in some ways has never been more challenging. Many students are ill-prepared when they arrive, others lack the “soft” skills necessary to succeed in a postsecondary environment, and the cost of college is immense.
NOTE: The Education Committee of the Ohio Senate last week heard testimony on SB 85, a proposal that would expand Ohio’s private school voucher program. Fordham’s Chad Aldis was a witness at this hearing and these are his written remarks.